Box Score SAVANNAH, GA. – North Carolina Central University's Jeremy Ingram (Charlotte, N.C.) rolled up a career-high 38 points as the Eagles led tape-to-tape against Savannah State University to earn win No. 12 in-a-row in the 76-62 victory on Monday night inside Tiger Arena.
 
The win is significant in that it's the first inside Tiger Arena after falling short on four previous tries, gives the maroon and gray 20 wins on the year, marking the first back-to-back 20-victory campaign since the 1996-97 season.  The win also gives the program 17 20-win seasons in program history.
 
Ingram's layup with 14:35 to go in the first half completed the quick start by NCCU as they jumped out to a 10-2 lead on the host Tigers.
 
Savannah State cut the margin to two at 22-20 following a Deven Williams three-pointer with 6:44 left in the first frame, but the Eagles responded with a 10-3 spurt to stretch the lead to nine at 32-23 using explosion to take a 39-31 lead into the locker room.
 
SSU's Horace Broadnax was charged with a technical to begin the second half, which allowed NCCU to immediately push the lead back to double figures at 41-31.
 
The Tigers cut the deficit to eight at 53-45 after Whitley Carter's jumper and that's when Ingram drilled a deep three-pointer to quiet Tiger Arena crowd, putting NCCU up 56-45 with 8:58 left.
 
On the following possession, senior Alfonzo Houston's three-point play put the maroon and gray up for good at 59-45 and the Eagles never looked back.  NCCU led by as many as 16 points on the way to the 76-62 win.
 
In the victory, redshirt junior Jay Copeland (Suffolk, Va.) may have been the most valuable player in the game putting up a double-double 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, but he played a huge role in limiting SSU's Jyles Smith to no points, one rebound, and two blocks in only 15 minutes of action due to foul trouble.
 
Ingram scored half of the Eagles' points (38) on the night shooting 10-for-20 from-the-field, including an astounding 16-for-17 from-the-foul-line.  The 6-3 guard now has 1,305 career points to place him No. 12 on the all-time list.  Ingram was the highest scorer in the nation with his performance against Savannah State.
 
Senior guard Reggie Groves (Raleigh, N.C.) tied a career-high with five assists, while point guard Emanuel Chapman (Raleigh, N.C.) officially moved to fourth all-time at NCCU with 159 steals in his career.
 
SSU (9-17, 7-5 MEAC) was led by Deven Williams' 18 points in 16 minutes of action, while Joshua Montgomery ended the night with 11 points, and Kierre Richards contributed 10 points in the loss.
 
NCCU (20-5, 11-1 MEAC) outscored Savannah State 32-to-24 in-the-paint, outrebounded the Tigers 35-to-27, and held them to just 36 percent shooting (9-for-25) in the second half.  The maroon and gray were a ridiculous 35-for-41 (85.4 percent) from the line in the win.
 
The Eagles will have a few days to rest before they head to the Gate City in search of their fifth straight road win to face arch-rival North Carolina A&T at 6:00 p.m. from the Corbett Sports Center in Greensboro, N.C.
 
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